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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28829685">A Thorny Disposition</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skullharvester/pseuds/Skullharvester'>Skullharvester</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>One-Shots (Baldur's Gate 3) [5]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Baldur's Gate, Dungeons &amp; Dragons - All Media Types, Forgotten Realms, baldur's gate 3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, druid, request, vampire</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 12:54:19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,475</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28829685</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skullharvester/pseuds/Skullharvester</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>While being held captive in the Emerald Grove, Cazador plots how he might make his escape via any means necessary.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Halsin (Baldur's Gate)/Cazador (Baldur's Gate)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>One-Shots (Baldur's Gate 3) [5]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2120211</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Thorny Disposition</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This was a request that I got on Tumblr when I made a post asking if there are any particular ships that people might like to see me do a one-shot or two about for fun.  I normally keep to the stuff that I actively ship, but this was such an interesting challenge that I wanted to see how I could make it work and seem at least vaguely legit/plausible.  </p><p>Enjoy and have fun!</p><p>If you liked this tale, please drop me a kudos and/or a comment to let me know if you'd like to see more!</p><p>Thank you, and have a wonderful night!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <hr/><p>
  
</p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>        Cazador writhed against the thick brambles that bound him to the inner sanctum’s wall, snarling as the thorns pierced and ripped through his skin and clothing in the struggle.  The druidic magic left him powerless to escape, but that didn’t stop the proud vampire lord from trying. </p><p>        He must have taught Astarion well; this was certainly an <em>interesting</em> method of getting his vengeance—sending him off to be held prisoner in a druid grove in Elturgard. </p><p>        How did Astarion, of all people, manage to win the favor of a First Druid, anyway?  Was he more charming than Cazador gave him credit for?</p><p>        This probably wasn’t even the end.  No, this was but the beginning of his torment.  Astarion would no doubt keep him guessing as to how he would ultimately die.  Would it be at the hands of these druids? </p><p>        Perhaps Astarion would return and spirit him away in the night, delivering him to some kobold den, or maybe send him on a “pleasant” ride down the River Chionthar in his own coffin while a bard stood in the back and sang that new tune that was going around as of late.  Down, down, down by the river, or something like that.</p><p>        What a joke.  How could he, Cazador Szarr—vampire patriarch of Baldur’s Gate—be defeated by a mere vampire spawn?  His own, no less!  And Astarion didn’t even have the decency of landing the final blow right then and there upon his defeat; he had to play with him.</p><p>        <em>Well played, my boy,</em> Cazador thought bitterly, allowing his weakened body to go slack against his living bonds.  <em>Well played.</em></p><p>        Now, Cazador’s only consolation was the knowledge that, hopefully, his legacy might continue in the form of Astarion.  If Astarion was capable of a scheme like this, then he truly had taken after his master’s ways.  In a sense, he would never be free of Cazador’s influence, for it would be as deeply rooted within him as the vampire lord himself was to this wall.</p><p>        It wasn’t the victory that Cazador wanted, but it was a triumph, nonetheless.</p><p>        When small beams of sunlight crept in through the sanctuary’s door as it slid open, the vampire gasped and curved his body to the best of his ability to avoid it.  Narrow rays scorched part of his skin, but the burning stopped as soon as the door shut behind the towering elf that entered.  Cazador couldn’t remember the man’s name. </p><p>        Was it Halberd? </p><p>        No…</p><p>        Halsin. </p><p>        It was Halsin.</p><p>        But Cazador wouldn’t give the First Druid the pleasure of speaking his name; that might imply some reverence.</p><p>        “You again,” Cazador hissed, almost grinning, with his body still arched against the stone walling behind him.</p><p>        Halsin’s scarred and tattooed visage was stoic, steeled in anticipation of trickery.  He came close to the vampire, analyzing him with their faces little more than a foot apart.  He didn’t speak at first, being more curious of the unnatural creature before him.  He wasn’t quite like the other druids, who fearfully destroyed all that disturbed the balance without question.  Halsin wanted to understand such things; where they came from, why they existed in the first place.</p><p>        Cazador could exploit that.</p><p>        “When your studies on those…tadpole-things are over with, I assume <em>I’ll</em> be your next experiment, won’t I?”  The vampire grinned wickedly, showing sharp teeth.</p><p>        For a moment, Halsin’s eyes softened in alarm, revealing that there was some truth in that suggestion.  But as soon as his face had betrayed him, the First Druid hardened his expression again, knitting his bushy eyebrows together in a glare.  “Few have had the opportunity to study your kind up-close,” he admitted, tilting his head to view the man’s teeth from another angle.</p><p>        A dark chuckle rumbled in Cazador’s throat as he leaned closer—as far forward as the brambles would permit.  “And are you <em>sure</em> that your interest is purely intellectual in nature?” he purred seductively.</p><p>        Halsin drew back, blinking with wide eyes.  “I’m…not sure I understand your meaning.”  His hand was already reaching for the club strapped to his back.  “Are you trying to bewitch me, vampire?”</p><p>        There was another cackle.  “If it’s working, it’s by no magic, I assure you.  That would be your own heart’s doing.”</p><p>        The druid’s jaw tightened, and his fingertips tapped the handle of his club before withdrawing slowly.  His hand fell back to his side, but it clenched anxiously into a fist.  Cazador had flustered him, and the obviousness of that only made the vampire’s smirk widen.</p><p>        “It’s quite alright, my dear,” the monster cooed, shifting his lithe frame into a vulnerable pose—one that was irresistibly inviting.  “You wouldn’t be the first.”</p><p>        Face reddening with shame, Halsin swallowed and turned his head away, suspecting that he was being hypnotized by the creature’s crimson gaze; his eyes were captivating like a serpent’s, and Cazador had to be even more deadly than Teela, the great horned snake that resided in the grove.  <em>And</em> he was seemingly as capricious as she.</p><p>        “Come to me, darling,” Cazador whispered, taunting the First Druid in that low voice.  “I won’t bite.  Not unless you <em>want</em> me to…”</p><p>        And Halsin <em>did</em> come near, but only to seize the vampire by the neck and slam the back of his head against the wall.  He wasn’t <em>entirely</em> the gentle giant that he appeared to be at first glance.  Cazador liked that.</p><p>        Flecks of blood splattered out from Cazador’s lips when the sudden impact caused him to sink his own fangs into his bottom lip.  He coughed, spitting out some of the red liquid.  Halsin winced as dots of it stained his face and burned his eyes.</p><p>        Without thinking, Halsin licked his dry lips, and he tasted copper, along with something else.  He couldn’t describe it, but it was foul, whatever kind of corruption it was.  Cazador enjoyed seeing him grimace out of regret.</p><p>        “You should consider yourself lucky,” Cazador said.  “Few get the opportunity to taste me, as you have.  Let me go, and you could have more of me…  More than just my taste…”</p><p>        Halsin’s grip loosened on the monster’s neck, and he folded his arms across his broad chest.  “We’re done here.”</p><p>        “<em>Please</em>…”  Cazador’s body contorted again, but Halsin wouldn’t even acknowledge his desperate attempts to allure.  “You must be lonely.  The mantle of responsibility is a heavy burden, is it not?  I know it well myself.  Leading a coven isn’t easy—”</p><p>        “Being the keeper of a sacred grove is <em>nothing</em> like the hedonistic atrocities <em>your</em> kind get up to in your gruesome lairs,” Halsin growled, taking great offense at the comparison.  “I’m truly losing my patience with you, and if you keep persisting in attempting to warp my mind, Silvanus help me, I’ll—”</p><p>        The First Druid held his tongue, turning his back on the evil creature before him before he allowed himself to fully lose his temper.  If he let the vampire provoke him any further, the animal within him might literally come out. </p><p>        As much as Cazador might have deserved to be mauled by a bear, it could kill him, and if he were dead, Halsin would lose his chance to investigate what made a vampire tick, the veritable ticks that they were.  Such knowledge could be useful in maintaining nature’s balance, since Cazador’s ilk blighted and twisted the land they inhabited, often threatening to tip life's scales too far towards aberration.</p><p>        Halsin simultaneously wondered and worried if Cazador’s extended presence would cause the grove’s environment to shift in such a manner.  If it did, he wouldn’t permit it to go too far—only enough to take notes, and then he would get to work on restoring the ecosystem of the hallowed grounds back to how they should be.  Surely Silvanus would approve of his intentions if they were for the sake of preserving Toril’s equilibrium.</p><p>        Astarion gave Halsin a valuable opportunity indeed, and for this, he may consider sparing the worrying high elf, so long as Astarion didn’t get half a mind to cause the kind of damage his master could.  Halsin wasn’t keen on his kind, for good reason, but the world needed predators just as much as it needed prey.</p><p>        Halsin only couldn’t believe that Cazador, in the state that he was in, had the nerve to look upon him as if he were <em>prey</em>.  That malevolent gaze practically bored into the back of his head; he could feel it, even though he couldn’t see it.</p><p>        “We’ll try this again when you’re in less of a mood for playing games,” the druid grumbled, heading for the door to go back outside.</p><p>        “Yes,” Cazador agreed flatly.  “We’ll try again later.”</p><p>        The vampire lord exhaled aggravatedly when he was left to dwell on his own thoughts once more.</p><p>        Perhaps Kagha, the Shadow Druid, would be more receptive to his bargaining…</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>"She wants a coat made of my leather, and my fur, and my nails.  She's always cold despite the weather, she needs sun, she's so pale.  You think she's had enough, it's not enough, she always wants more."</p><p>Recommended Listening: My Leather, My Fur, My Nails by Stepdad</p></blockquote></div></div>
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